Jane Byam Shaw

Winner of the Bidfood, Brakes, Elior, Foodbuy, Nestle, Reynolds Food Group, Sodexo and Thomas Franks Women of the Year Game Changer Award

After the tragic death of their son Felix from meningitis, and inspired by his compassion and interest in helping others in need, Jane and her then husband Justin established the Felix Project (they still work together on it) to combat food waste and food poverty. The charity rescues good quality surplus food – mostly fresh fruit and vegetables – which would otherwise go to waste and delivers it to food banks, charities, primary schools and holiday programmes across London. Last year they gave out the equivalent of 38 million meals to over 1,200 community organisations and schools in every London borough.

“I’d worked in management consulting and marketing so whilst the idea of the Felix Project came from Justin, my experience in strategic consulting and understanding comms and how organisations work made us a good team. We both needed something positive to focus on after losing Felix and felt the same sense of outrage that so much good food was going to waste, ending up in landfill and causing greenhouse gasses when there were people who weren’t managing to feed themselves and their families. We started in a garage on a trading estate with just one other person doing all the collections, sorting and deliveries and I pinch myself the whole time that we’ve achieved what we have, with hundreds of employees and volunteers and dozens of vans. We have created an incredibly efficient model where for every pound of expenditure we deliver more than four pounds worth of food. It’s like magic. I’m so grateful to every person who plays a part in making that happen. Our vision is for London to be a city where no good food is wasted and nobody goes hungry. It’s something we hope to roll out nationally in time.”

Who are the women who have inspired you?

In the eleven years since Felix died I’ve had a group of three really close friends, all bereaved mothers themselves, who have kept me going. We all help and support each other because we understand in a way no-one else can what we’re going through. They inspire me every day.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I had a really bad stammer as a child and would be absolutely paralysed if I had to stand up in class and say anything. I carried that huge fear of speaking in public into my work life. So I would say to my younger self “don’t worry, one day you’ll be fine.” I wouldn’t have believed it and I still feel grateful and amazed it’s no longer an issue. I did a lot of training and practice to overcome it and the funny thing is, I can’t remember losing it.

What’s one thing you can’t live without?

If anybody had asked me to live without one of my sons I would have said that just wouldn’t be possible. But the Felix Project gave me purpose in life which I struggled to find in the early days. It stretches me and gives me something to think about and a way to contribute whilst keeping his memory alive.

What’s something about you that would surprise people to know?

I do something we jokingly call hedgehog ambulance driving. I’ve contributed a lot to various wildlife and landscape and habitat restoration projects in Dorset and when I’m down there I get involved in hedgehog rescues, taking sick hedgehogs to a centre where they can be taken care of.